The present invention relates to collaborative education and support, and more specifically, to a student-centric learning tool for communication-challenged students.
The primary goal of educators is to help each student develop the ability to explore, discover, and make lasting connections with the world around them. Traditionally, the home and school operate in parallel with few opportunities or pathways for meaningful communication and individualized collaboration around each student.
There are unique challenges faced by educators of students who have difficulties with communication skills, e.g., students on the Autism Spectrum often experience an inability to express their needs and thoughts. For an educator, it is critical to find ways to effectively engage these students in order to promote learning and social development. Research has shown that drawing upon personal narratives can be a very effective way of connecting with such students. Moreover, learning opportunities are often unpredictable requiring educators and parents to be prepared to react at a moment's notice. Oftentimes, parents at home are not aware of what is happening in the classroom (e.g., learning and social) and students with communication challenges are unable to articulate to the parents the events of their day when returning home from school.